Dell PowerEdge servers get AMD's new 16-core chips

Dell on Tuesday said it has upgraded its PowerEdge servers with the just-released 16-core Opteron processors from Advanced Micro Devices.

The company has upgraded the four-socket PowerEdge M915 blade server, which will be able to include up to 64 Opteron 6200 chip cores. The new servers will be faster than the M915 with the older 12-core Opteron 6100 chips.

AMD last week announced the availability of its first Opteron 6200 server processors, which carry the most cores available on x86 chips today. The chips, code-named Interlagos, are 25 percent to 30 percent faster than their 12-core predecessors. The new chips are based on the new Bulldozer processor architecture, which is also more power efficient.

The PowerEdge M915 with Opteron 6200 processors offers a 30 percent gain in memory bandwidth, and a 25 percent gain in server-side Java performance compared to the same servers with the 12-core Opteron 6100 processors, said Jim Hahn, a Dell spokesman.

Dell introduced the M915 last year as a virtualization and high-performance computing server. With 64 cores, the new chips will help expand the number of virtual machines available, and also provide more horsepower to speed up high-end applications such as databases.

The server comes with multiple 10-gigabit Ethernet ports to speed up the server performance in virtualized environments. The server can be expanded to 12 networking ports.

The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.

My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.

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